Veteran Nollywood actress and evangelist Eucharia Anunobi has opened up about the difficult experiences she faced growing up, revealing that her father once locked her in her room for six months because she refused to accept a job he arranged for her.
The actress shared the story during an appearance on the Honest Bunch podcast, where she spoke about the strained relationship she had with her father, particularly regarding her education and career choices.
According to Anunobi, her father did not believe it was necessary to educate a girl because he felt a female child would eventually marry and take another family’s name.
“My father was against me going to school… it was a thing of displeasure for him. From secondary school, he was like he is not interested in my education,” she said.
“As a matter of fact, what is in a girl child? What legacy would it leave except that they are only going to get married. So please, cut them off from me.”
She explained that despite her father’s financial capacity, he refused to sponsor her education. The situation pushed her to explore modelling, which later became the means through which she funded her schooling.
“That was how I began my journey and it encouraged me into modelling. It was modelling that sustained, fuelled, and financed my education. Yes, my father was wealthy in his own terms, he did not want to have anything to do with the girl child,” she said.
Anunobi also recounted how her father repeatedly tried to compel her to take up an office job by sending employment letters under her door while she remained confined.
“For six months, my father locked me in my room. There is the small white paper they call use me paper , he would write employment letter and push it under my door. so I can fill the form and we can submit it,” she said.
“But I would write back that I don’t want to work in an office. My mum would be crying and there would be giving me food like a criminal for six months in my own father’s house.
“In his mind, I am a waste. He didn’t pay my fees till university and after I struggled to make my university education possible, he wanted to lodge over me, I refused. All those acting I did then, I used to sneak out to go and do them.”
Her account sheds light on the challenges she faced while pursuing education and a career path she believed in, despite resistance from her own family.
